American Wind Energy Association welcomes T. Boone Pickens campaign

The American Wind Energy Association welcomed the campaign launched by T. Boone Pickens to strengthen U.S. economic and energy security by boosting wind power production.

U.S. Department of Energy, in a major technical report, confirmed that wind can generate 20% of U.S. electricity supply by 2030 while providing benefits that far outweigh the cost.

According to the DOE technical report, achieving a 20% wind contribution to U.S. electricity supply by 2030 would:

* Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25% in 2030;
* Reduce natural gas use by 11%, which would in turn lower the pressure on natural gas prices;
* Support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an average of more than 150,000 workers directly employed by the wind industry;
* Increase annual revenues to local communities to more than $1.5 billion by 2030; and
* Reduce water consumption associated with electricity generation by 4 trillion gallons by 2030.